Stanley steamer

[snowstorm]

i had to go up to the camp today to do some painting. so on the way back i stoped at the stanley steamer museum in kingfield  maine. they have 4 cars there the oldest built in 1904. along with a couple steam engines from the cars. pretty sharp looking cars

[loggah]

The Stanley brothers were pretty sharp, they made concert violins ,before they ever built steam cars, they had a bunch of patents on things they built,!! also being identical twins they used to pull a bunch of tricks on the law !!!!! ;D

[snowstorm]

The Stanley brothers were pretty sharp, they made concert violins ,before they ever built steam cars, they had a bunch of patents on things they built,!! also being identical twins they used to pull a bunch of tricks on the law !!!!! ;D

there was a couple violins there also. along with a few guns from the civil war

[scgargoyle]

I worked for a guy that restored Stanley Steamers. I actually got a ride in one. Interesting- You just open the steam valve, and it goes. 100% torque from 0 RPM! They were also much faster than any other car in their day; much faster than the suspension and tires could handle, too.

[r.man]

I have read articles by Jay Leno who has more than one and if I remember correctly the later models were fairly quick to start as well.

[snowstorm]

they said about 20 min to get it warmed up.   there was a sign on one saying top speed was 127mph. there was a speedometer on it. driven off the right front wheel with exposed gears. the speedo was made by stewart warner

[thecfarm]

127mph,for the ones that don't know that was not done on a Maine road in that era.  :D  And in fact I know of many roads in Chestervlle,that I don't even want to do 50 mph on.

[Autocar]

 :D :D :D :D When I first seen the post the first thing that poped into my mind was a carpet cleaner. And I couldn't put snowstorm and a carpet cleaner togather  ;D

[Paul_H]

I saw this one a couple years ago at the Westwold Steam Show about 45 minutes west of here.It sailed along pretty quick and was quiet.

[hardtailjohn]

I got to work on a friend's  1902 Locomobile steam powered car. Too much fun!!
John

[redprospector]

I've wondered for years, why in our search for an alternate source of energy, no one seems to have looked at steam seriously.
Sometimes you have to step backward, to be able to move forward.

[beenthere]

no one seems to have looked at steam seriously

How can you tell that?

[sawguy21]

Steam certainly has it's advantages but range is limited by the amount of fuel and water required. Those early boilers were also prone to exploding.

[redprospector]

How can you tell that?

Well, to be totally honest I can't tell that. I'm basically assuming that since all that I've ever heard about in the news is how they are trying to perfect the electric car, and that will be our salvation. I wonder what they use to make that electricity.

[redprospector]

Steam certainly has it's advantages but range is limited by the amount of fuel and water required. Those early boilers were also prone to exploding.

We have the advantage of better metallurgy, and a few other failsafe's that they didn't have back in the early 1900's. We don't seem to mind sitting on top of 20 or so gallons of gasoline...remember the Pinto?  :D

As far as range goes, I bet it wouldn't be much, if any worse than the range of an electric car. You can get water pretty easily in most places, and how far would a half dozen 40 lb. bags of wood pellets take you?

Just food for thought.

[Ianab]

Actually I did some reading about them, and apparently there where few serious accidents. Even if the relief valve failed, the boilers or steam pipes would pop a seam some place before they build up enough pressure to actually explode. So in a failure there was a huge cloud of steam, and you just stopped  :D

[scgargoyle]

Steam isn't an alternate form of energy. It's just external combustion versus internal combustion. You still have to burn something. I don't think generating steam is any cheaper or fuel efficient than just burning it in an engine.

[snowstorm]

Steam certainly has it's advantages but range is limited by the amount of fuel and water required. Those early boilers were also prone to exploding.

the boiler they had there that wasnt in a car was wrapped with telephone wire. lots of it . to hold it together just in case??

[Magicman]

To operate a boiler here in Mississippi, you have to be certified and licensed.  The boiler also has to be pressure tested and certified.

[CJennings]

I love steam engines. I always liked the Stanley vehicles, but I think the Doble steamers were more advanced and I think a practical vehicle could be developed from their design with modern materials and technology. They started very quick (a minute or so as I recall), had condensing systems to reduce the need for water refills (as did the late Stanley steamers), and so forth. Anything could be used to produce steam. I'd love to see a wood pellet burning steamer.

[redprospector]

Steam isn't an alternate form of energy. It's just external combustion versus internal combustion. You still have to burn something. I don't think generating steam is any cheaper or fuel efficient than just burning it in an engine.

This may be, but, it is a renewable source of energy. It may cost the same as gasoline, but once oil is used, it's used. Energy created by burning wood, or wood pellets is energy created using a resource that will grow back. I've looked into pellet manufacturing some, you can make pellets out of old newspapers, cardboard, and even grass clippings if you're so inclined.

[redprospector]

To operate a boiler here in Mississippi, you have to be certified and licensed.  The boiler also has to be pressure tested and certified.

That might be a good thing. Put some responsibility back into owning an automobile.
In all reality, you have to be licensed to operate a vehicle, and in most places it has to be inspected annually anyway.
I don't know if it's an answer, much less the answer. I just think it's worth looking into.